of san francisco



Dec. 7 1926.

W. H. LOWE PAVEMENT Filed Oct. 26,

WMI/4111"" /NVE/VTOR VV/'l//am H. Law@ e A7V-orne] i vibration and prevents noise.

UNITEDsTATi-:s

lPAJIENT oFFI-cs.

WILLIAM H. LOWE, OFV SAN FRANCISCO. CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE PARAFFINE COMPANIES, INC., OF SAN FRANCISCO,

. WARE.

CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION OFDELA- PAVEMENT.

Application led October 26,.,` 1925. Serial No. 64,805.

`My invention relates to fioors and pavements, -and one of the objects of the invention isthe provision of a structure of special adaptability as a ooring for industrial uses, or as a -paving of general application and which is characterizedby economy and great durability. 3

Another object of the 'invention is th provision of a fiooring or paving'which is verminand decay-proof and also water-, acid, and alkali-proof. y

Another object of the invention is the provision of a ooring or paving having a' certain measure of resilience.

Another object is the rovision of a flooring or paving which eaden's and absorbs Another object of my invention is the provision of av flooring or paving which lends itself readily to permanent markings to indicate safety zones, arking places and other areas, or'to give in ormation Tor directions.

vMy invention possesses other objects and features, of advantage some of which with the foregoing will be set forth in the followingdescription of the preferred embodiment 'of means for practicing the invention which is illustrated in the drawings .accompanying and forming part of the specification. It is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the showing made' -by` the said description andi drawings as -I may adopt variations of my preferred form within the scope of my invention as set forth in theclaims. Referring to the drawings: .5; Figure 1 is a vertical sectionthru a portion of my iooring orl paving structure in its preferred and simplestform.

Figure-2 is a plan view of a section of my pavement as used to indicate a safety zone.

Figure 3 is a vertical section thru a portion of floor or pavement embodying a variant form of my'invention.

Figure, 4 is a vertical sectional view thru the pavement shown in- Figure 2. The lplane on'which the section is taken is indicated by the line 1f-4 of Figure 2,

Figure 5 is a fvertical sectional view similar to Figure 4: but showing another embodiment of my invention.

saturated with a semi-solid material to render the sheet slightly and slowly yieldable under impact. A similar material is used to cement together the layers or sheets, if

there be more than one, and the sheet or i 'sheets to the underlying substructurel or base. Where 1t 1s desired to mark the pave.

ment to indicate-safety Zones or for other purposes, strips or pieces 'of different color than that of the body of the pavement are interposed therein, or laid thereon, and these strips or pieces may bethe letters of words or used as lines.

In greater detail the flooring of my inven- -fion comprises a base structure 2 of concrete, wood or other suitable material commonly used for the purpose. Overlying the substructure or base is a layer 3 of fibrous material, such as a ragfelt sheet which I have found convenient to make of. say, rag, 10% h urlap, and 10% of other fiber such as redwood bark. This sheet is saturated with a bituminous compound, semi-solid at ordinary temperatures, and is also provided on the upper or on 4both sides with a coating 4f of bitumen, solid at' ordinary temperatures. vand having a melting point of about 180 F. This coating is on the upper or wearing surface of the flooring, and coalesces more or less with the saturating compound.

The sheet 3 is united with the sub-structure 2 by a layer 6 of bituminous cement, preferably a relatively lhard steam-blown l asphalt dissolved in carbon bisuliide, benino material, having a measure of. resilient but yet not springy, capable of slow flow under pressure in a minor degree and within narrow limits, and yet firm under the impact of the feet or wheels.

Because of the coating and underlying saturant with which it integrally unites, my fiooring or pavement possesses a very peculiar and valuable property, namely that of healing over minor injuries in the surface. As a flooring, it is particularly designed for industrial uses and findsY its chief application in locations where it is subjected to most destructive wear, such for example as canneries, restaurants, laundries, street-car platforms and fioors, ice and cold ystorage plants, refrigerator cars, laboratories, granaries, malt houses and grain elevators, offices and schoolrooms. It is also applicable to l corridors'and. sidewalks, and yto mark quiet v `zones andftennis courts.

lis particularly valuable on bridges and their fthe lwear-in trucks,-fall1ngobjects, vehicular traffic and otherI destructive influences; many of which As a pavement it approaches, streets adjacent hospitals and churches.

yIn such luses as these, it is subjected to actionof heavy shoes, loaded Y inflictl actual mechanical injury to the surfalce.L` `Possessing the peculiar property just mentioned, ordinary cuts and injuries of reltively minor character, quickly fill up and 30 level over,`d1ieito`the slowy flowing of the saturating andcoating materials under conditions ofy use, so that' substantially an even and smoothfsurface is' restored by wear.

The ,'fibr'ous character of the saturated sheet'- and .the property of slowly giving orYY yielding' under' impact 'makes my flooring ory paving a resilient'one without any perceptible springiness and growing out of the same qualitiesl isfanoth'er desirable feature,

that of quietness.` My flooring or paving absorbs vibration and is Without resonance, and hence even the running of trucks over it is unaccompaniedby any of the noises associated with wood vor concrete floors. Y

lMy frooring or paving is characterized by extreme durability, in actual tests on a car loading platform, sections of it having outwcrn steel plate. 'One of the reasons for its cxtreme durability is believed to lie in the fact that the saturation of the fibrous sheet inal semi-solid material prevents what may The termed internal wears, that is, the

'mutually destructive action of fibers crushed r together, while at the same timepermitting a'sufficient give, or yielding, under shock, to ypreserve a certain measure of' resilience. Further, the cementing ofv the sheet to a rigid base so that a'unita'ry structure re-` sults, prevents any lateral slipping of the fibrous sheetand narrowly localizes shocks and'stresses(` v l j l Because `'lof -the/ chem1cal characteristics of the saturantvv and coating materials, my` lfloorlng ortvpaving is vermin-proof, decayproof, and waterzacidf, and'alkali-proof.

I have found that a very durable floor or pavement and one which is relatively cheap to llay, may be made with a fibrous sheet comprising a heavy prepared roofing, ,and this flooring is black to dark grey in color. Instead of coating my fibrous sheet as above noted, I may usea coating composed of light colored stearin'pitc-h, 10% of gilsonite,

5% petroleum 0r wool grease and 30% figure comprises the base or substructure 2, over which a thin layer 7 of dampcourse is laid, and united to the base by a layer 8 of bituminous cement. The cracks 9 bef vtween the Alayers 7 are also filled with the bituminous cement, and over the layers of dampcourse are cemented, by the layer 12 of bitimuminous cement, the relatively heavy fibrous shee`t,13 similar to the sheet 3 first explained. The dampcourse comprises preferably a sheet similar to the sheet 13 but made of thinner material. The cracks 14 between these sheets are also filled with the bituminous cement com ound, so that both `the overlying sheet 13, t e intervening sheet l 7 and the substructure 2 are integrally The overunited into a unitary structure. lying sheets 13 are provided with a coating lsimilar tothe coating 4 described in connectionwith the structure shown in Figure l.

In' laying this flooring or paving it is desirable of course to break joints between the layers 7 and 13 as shown in the drawing.

The flooring or paving shown in Figure 3 is a trifle more expensive to lay than the one first explained, but this is more than compensated by the increase in desirable qualities, of noiselessness, extreme durability and water-proofness.

If desired, creosote may be incorporated in the saturant and zinc sulfatein the felt,

either or both, to inhibit the growth of funof a different and preferably lighter color, and is inlaid into the body 1T of the pavement as shown in Figure 4, the abutting edges being carefully cemented together by a layer or body l!) of bituminous or other .suitable cement.

In some cases I prefer to overlay the body of my pavement with an addedl piece as shown in Figure 5, comprising a piece of tibi-ous material similar to that already referred to; or comprising a fabric strip having a dense rag felt base 21, saturated with a bituminous compound and having a Wearing coating 22 over the exposed surface. This coating is of the enamel type of paint in which a light pigment predominates, and is baked on. It provides a surface which is semi-flexible and extermely tough, and highly resistant to Wear.

A satisfactory strip for marking a pavement in this manner has been made from a good grade of so-called printed floor covering. The strip is secured in place preferably by a bituminous' cement.

In the following claims I shall usetlie term pavement to designate my new structure Whether it is applied to Hoor, sidewalk, or street use.

I claim: v

1. A pavement comprising a supporting substructure, and overlying fibrous sheet adhesively united to the substructure, the fibrous sheet being saturated with a semisolid material to render the sheet slightly and slowly yieldable under impact and being coated on its exposed surface with a bituminous compound solid at normal temperatures but capable of coalescing after scarring.

2. A payement comprising a supporting base, an overlying fibrous sheet saturated with a. semisolid bituminous material to render it slightly and slowly yieldable under impact, and coated on its exposed surface with a bituminous compound solid at normal temperatures but capable of coalescing after scarring, and an .intervening cementing layer of bituminous compound to bind the Whole into a unitary structure.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

WILLIAM H. LOIVE. 

